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SERVING OVER 17,000 CITY AND DWP EMPLOYEES

Vol. 4 n No. 11 City Employees Club of November 2005 Focus of Alive! Special Section: Katrina Heroes n Club paper devotes large section to City employees who served in Gulf States.

THE CITY — This month, Alive! devotes a special section to many of the City heroes who traveled to the Gulf States and saved lives and buildings, brought shelter and supplies, and performed other tasks. “This is a historic moment,” said John Hawkins, Club CEO and Alive! Managing Editor. “We want to make sure history remem- bers the names and faces of the heroes.”

Read about the City heroes in the Alive! The special section, beginning on >>>>> No Limits page 27. No Limits Katrina heroes are the focus ’ of an Alive! Special Section. SKY S the No Limits No LimitsLimitNo Limits

Refund Checks! n Massive renovation of Rec & Big Club Benefit Parks’ famous brings together the best of the City. Arrives in Dec. Facility director and legendary Dr. gives Alive! n The Club announces life insurance refunds of approx. a personal tour of the work in progress. $800,000. Only those eligible REC AND PARKS — Since graduating from UCLA with his will share in the bounty. doctorate degree, Ed Krupp has worked full-time at just one place: The Griffith Observatory. He started as a part-time lec- THE CLUB — Here come the refund checks … right on time for your holiday needs! turer, and is now the Observatory’s director. The Club’s Insurance Board of Directors So there’s no better person to lead the renovation of the has determined that for the world-famous observatory, which looks over the City basin and year 2005, approximately toward the sky. $800,000 is to be distrib- >>>>> LOOK INSIDE The City-owned and –operated facility has been closed since uted back to the eligible this issue of Alive! for the tour, 2002 to undergo a massive $90 million renovation, the first in its Club members. history. Before it closed for its major nip-tuck, the Observatory was The Club continues its interviews and tons of background drawing some two million visitors a year. So, interest is high – and tradition of rewarding information on the renovation of loyal members with a the Griffith Observatory: climbing – to see what Dr. Krupp and City hath wrought. return of unused premi- Judging from a private hardhat tour provided for Alive! by Dr. ums (total premiums col- PAGES 50-59 Krupp —and presented to you inside this issue—the restored lected less paid claims and expenses). The 2005 See Renovation, Page 50 Brian the CFO refund will be the Club’s 75th refund. Dr. Ed Krupp, Director of the Griffith Observatory, stands in front of the facility, which is undergoing a major renovation. See Refund, Page 3

City Employees Club of Los Angeles PRSRT STD 350 S. Figueroa St., Suite 700 US POSTAGE Coming in December: Los Angeles, CA 90071 PAID Permit #30391 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED Los Angeles, CA ClubFest 2005

PhotoRemember the fun …Gallery folks … food … and music bFe with a special section featuring tons of great images lu st from the biggest Club event all year. C Only in Alive!’s December issue.

50 November 2005 n City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! w ww.cityemployeesclub.com Griffith Observatory Renovation The >>>>> No Limits No Limits Sky’s the No Limits No Limits LimitNo Limits >>>>>

Alive!: Public observatory as opposed to … A City Icon, and Why It Matters Dr. Ed Krupp: Private. Private observatories would have nothing to do with [our location], because they need to be much farther away, much higher, and, I’m speaking from the point of view of its steadiness, not its clarity, the COVER STORY: Alive!: Thanks so much for welcoming Alive! Alive!: One of the things we want to ask you is steadiness of the air in Southern is and the City Employees Club. We’re a totally about the renovations, of course. What’s differ- actually what drew to Southern In October, positive newspaper. ent? Has it been two years? California in the first place. Mount Wilson still has superb observing conditions and is still used Dr. Ed C. Krupp, Dr. Ed Krupp: Even if you weren’t, it would be Dr. Ed Krupp: No, no, even longer. We closed because of that unique quality of the climate. director of the Griffith okay. We’re public servants here. Jan. 6, 2002, and that was after many, many years of architectural preparation and all kinds Observatory, sat down Bottom line is the place had to look the same. Alive!: Is it getting old with people asking you, of stuff. In a sense, this project is 25 years old in conception and development, but that’s beside with Club CEO John “When is the Observatory going to open?” And then when people get here, they are owed the point. the same sense of vista and view. When we Hawkins to talk about Dr. Ed Krupp: We ask that question every day. closed and I was asked what people would miss the major renovation of No, it’s not old at all. In fact, in a sense, it’s ter- You asked about what’s different. I want to pref- the most, I said, “The view, no question about it. ace that with a kind of a frame because it’s an the City landmark, and rific, but not surprising. Griffith Observatory is They’ll miss the view.” And they have. They will known and, it might be a little overly romantic extremely important frame for this facility: Yup, return to the view because that is one of the then took John on a to say so, but beloved by just about everybody. it’s different, except it’s the same. And this goes most spectacular things about it. It is spectacu- personal hardhat tour of It’s one of those few places that has no agenda right to the original master plan and the funda- lar from the perspective of, “Here I am in Los mental principles behind what we were doing. the work-in-progress. other than we’re owned by everybody. We’re the Angeles; I’m looking out over the basin and I people’s observatory; people feel that way about Everybody knows the Observatory. It’s an icon see everything;” but it’s also in a sense educa- it. So the fact that people want to know when of Los Angeles and it’s known worldwide, large- tionally and scientifically spectacular as well it’s going to open is actually terrific. It means ly thanks to . That means that people because that view does exactly what we’re sup- that they’re engaged: They know they own it, have an emotional expectation about it, that it’s posed to do – make the connection between and they want it back. I don’t blame ’em a bit. this grand building. earth and sky. [It] becomes the launch pad for They really did it right when they did it the first each individual spirit into the sky to make con- Alive!: When are you going to open, then? time. You don’t wreck something that is actual- nection with stars, planets, galaxies, and so on. That’s what it’s about. Dr. Ed Krupp: I can tell you that last night at ly superb and one of these real jewels for the a Los Feliz Improvement Association meeting, City. So item number one is that this place, the Councilmember said the Observatory will when it is finished, has to look the same, since Doing It Right it’s seen from all over the City. When you make open when the Bureau of Engineering, the Alive!: What do the Observatory and its renova- Department of Recreation and Parks, the the pilgrimage and get up the road and you’ve Observatory, the neighborhood, and everybody done work to get there and you’re rewarded by tion mean to you personally? says it is fully ready, and all of the things from a arriving there and you are greeted by this build- Dr. Ed Krupp: The real personal message for safety and completion [standpoint] ing, it must in fact look more or less the same me is the remarkable opportunity to get to do have been done. He didn’t speculate not only for the sake of history and integrity of something big and grand and meaningful to on any specific date. He said it the building and all, but because it was the right people, and do it right. What’s really wonderful might be mid-summer, or it might thing in the first place. The people knew what about the project is it’s not just fixing and be late summer. It’s going to open they were doing. There was drama in this expanding the Observatory. We’re getting to do when it should. And so that deci- approach. There is satisfaction in this grand the thing right, which is a reflection of what was sion will be made obviously by building that says, “This is the Observatory. This invested in the building in the first place and the management. is the place where you make contact with the thought that went into it and also a reflection of sky.” It sends that message by its location and people’s respect and use of it. I’ll get kind of silly Alive!: Next year sometime? architecture. It is in fact on the best piece of here, but I have watched over the years how public observatory real estate in the world. people who have gotten involved with the Dr. Ed Krupp: Absolutely, We’re the envy of other places that do things Observatory are transformed by the place absolutely. like us. because they realize this is one of the neatest things. www.cityemployeesclub.com City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! n November 2005 51 Griffith Observatory Renovation

“We look at this place as an instrument because it’s filled with instru- ments and it operates to transform the visitor into an observer. That’s the mission, that’s our job. By becoming an observer, they become more tuned to nature and what makes nature tick.” – Dr. Edwin C. Krupp, Griffith Observatory

The whole construction team, everybody who ning to filter into the average person’s mind. has gone up there has said, “This is a big deal. This is how this fits in. This scene is in fact a way We’ve got to do this right.” There’s none of that of giving this instant visceral experience to peo- sense of, “Oh, we can shortcut this.” ple; but at the same time, it’s got a much more Everybody’s trying to do their best effort, and profound message. they always have. That’s the pleasure for me – getting to do something right. Like that’s a mir- is [represented] on the floor in acle, you know? the room where this is located, the [Richard and Lois] Gunther Depths of Space. He’s there, not Alive!: But there is part of Dr. Krupp in this ren- only because Einstein’s cool and it will be a bronze statue of him and you get to sit next to ovation, in this Observatory. You’re stamping him and have your picture taken with him and this with a seal of approval for generations to all that, but Albert is sitting down there with his come. hand up in the air. The amount of sky that he Dr. Ed Krupp: I appreciate that point, but covers up with his finger is the same amount of remember I’m actually operating as – you could sky that this 150-foot-long, 20-foot-high wall is call it an enforcer, a mob guy or something. I’m showing you. We’ve taken that finger’s worth of really an enforcer of standards. And those stan- sky, blown it up big, and shown you what’s cov- dards come from of course the City of L.A. and ered up by his finger. It’s astounding because it’s what it intends by what it owns and the galaxies and more galaxies. You have no idea Department of Recreation and Parks, the astro- how much stuff is out there. This is the first nomical community and the information that chance to give people a sense. There’s this much astronomy obtains and how it obtains it. There stuff. It’s incredible. Dr. Ed Krupp in front of the Griffith Observatory under renovation. are standards in the integrity of that informa- It really took a variety of conceptualizations to tion and then there are standards of just visitor get to this point, but it also goes very far back to couldn’t blow it up that big without it looking just altering the perspective to be able to take in experience. And so, if I have a job, it’s being when I was in graduate school, when I was look- really ugly. You just can’t get the resolution. This who we are and how we fit into the landscape able to implement standards that I think every- ing at prints off of the 48-inch Schmidt tele- was a scan done for us with a telescope called we inhabit. body understands. scope up on Palomar. I was looking for galaxies the Samuel Oschin telescope on Palomar and mapping them, and I had a little magnifier. Mountain. It’s been refurbished digitally, elec- A simple case in mind, and this isn’t even the Alive!: What’s your favorite part of the building? [Back in graduate school,] I had a picture on tronically. They did a scan of the region that we one that normally affects me the most, but we saw the world transformed in 1969 and there- Dr. Ed Krupp: It’s a fair question, and the my desk, and I traced and made all these maps want for us to the sufficient level of detail that abouts when the first footprint was put on the answer changes as we do stuff. Sometimes it’s and counted things. I did this day in and day we’re enabling us to blow this thing up that way. . And everybody said, “Oh, that’s cool,” something very small and sometimes it’s some- out, trying to get out of graduate school. You’re and all of that, but the fact is, it wasn’t just that thing really very, very big. I can’t give you a fair looking in there and you see a galaxy. It’s like a Why People Look Up it was an achievement that people acknowl- answer to that. I could easily pick one and say, spiral galaxy. You can see this tiny little thing, edged, it changed the way they looked at them- “Oh yeah, this is it” and be happy to talk about and it’s got tiny little spiral arms you can hardly Alive!: Why is astronomy important? selves and what they thought they could do and it, but in fact the place is like a three-ring circus see. And you’re saying, well, that little sucker is Dr. Ed Krupp: It’s actually pretty simple, but I how they could do it. That footprint on that with a whole lot more than three rings. about as big as the that we live in. have a feeling that most people don’t necessari- moon, that blue earth in space, became a new And then there’s another one, there’s another ly make the connection. People think about Maybe it’s better to say: Almost everything that place. We wouldn’t be talking about the kinds of one, and there’s another one, and there’s anoth- astronomy like it’s cool and it’s interesting. It’s we’re doing is unprecedented in the world in the things that relate to the place where we live and er one. All I could think of was, man, there’s a much more important than that. way that we’re doing it. For example, [one new lot of Fords and refrigerators and stuff out the environment if we didn’t have a conception feature] is this 150-foot-long wall, 20 feet high, there. It’s astonishing how huge the universe is. It is a tool for our survival, not that other things of it, and we couldn’t have had that conception that will be the biggest astronomical photo- Just to begin to give a sense of that to people is aren’t too, but you sort of think of it as very lofty if we hadn’t gone out and looked back at it. graph in the world. [You might say,] “Well, that’s a treat. and remote and not having much to do with our Astronomy just extends that kind of mentality neat,” except it’s a threshold to the world of the everyday lives. But astronomy is obviously the to these very large scales and it ultimately galaxies beyond the Milky Way. You are looking Alive!: Is it a Hubble photograph? sky, and the sky, the universe is what prompts always comes back to who are we, where are we out into what’s essentially the big metropolis of the biggest questions that we ask, and those big going, where have we come from, and what’s Dr. Ed Krupp: No, it’s actually off of Palomar galaxies outside us in the sticks. We’re way out questions then inspire curiosity. Who we are as the right thing to do. Mountain. Hubble couldn’t take that photo- in the suburbs of this local amalgamation of organisms on the planet gets translated into graph. The Hubble covers an extremely small Let’s put it this way: Astronomy prompts the galaxies, and most people have no clue where attempts to understand nature more accurately. amount of sky, much big questions. Big questions invite wonder. we are. This understanding of where we We seek more accurate descriptions of nature smaller than a fin- are, just geography, is a because of these big questions that prompt the ger’s worth, product of just the last curiosity. Accurate descriptions of nature we and you century and it’s just begin- know from experience are tools for survival. It’s — continued next page

(Left) Griffith Observatory, prior to renovation. (Above) The front lawn of the Griffith Observatory was temporarily dug up to construct a major expansion underground. The lawn has since been restored. 52 November 2005 n City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! w ww.cityemployeesclub.com Griffith Observatory Renovation

The Best of the City of those things. We have legislation that requires us to fulfill certain obligations to make Alive!: Tell us about all the City departments the place available to everybody, and that meant represented up on the hill there. that we had to go to each of those agencies, bureaus, or departments in each case, both to Dr. Ed Krupp: I probably won’t be able to do be assured that we were doing the right thing or a complete job of it, but clearly the Department to get guidance if we weren’t. Oh, the C.A.O., of Recreation and Parks owns and operates the and the C.L.A., too. Observatory, and I work for Recreation and Parks. But the Bureau of Engineering in Public Works is managing the project and doing an Alive!: Any council people showing an interest? absolutely spectacular job of it. I shudder to Dr. Ed Krupp: Oh yeah. think how it would be if they weren’t involved with it. Alive!: Anyone in particular? Dr. Ed Krupp: This is in Councilmember Tom Alive!: C ontract Administration as well? LaBonge’s district, and he has been a hero from Dr. Ed Krupp: Yeah. And then obviously the beginning, decades before he was a Department of Water and Power has a role to Councilmember. For the times that I’ve play because they’re bringing water and power appeared before Council or had just individual to the place. action, you find everybody sees this is belonging to the whole City, of course. Alive!: Building and Safety? Alive!: How many City employees will be work- Dr. Ed Krupp: Of course. With Building and Safety, it’s a whole different issue because you ing for you? have to get through Building and Safety. I Dr. Ed Krupp: When we are finished, the full- wouldn’t call it an adversarial relationship. We time staff will number 30, approximately. The clearly recognized each other’s value. part-time staff will probably have a roster of between 150 and 200, and they are the real on- And General Services, for gosh sake. Just pur- the-ground operations people. There will be chasing alone – stuff you have to buy, you have some full-time operations people, but the peo- to bring on board … The Personnel ple that are the guides, the ticket sellers, you Department … It might seem routine. It’s not know, the lecturers, all those peo- routine. We’ve got a whole bunch of new classi- ple are most likely to be part-time. fications of positions that never existed before that have to somehow be brought into the City system. This is a hard thing for the average per- Alive!: So it’s really the best of the City coming son to understand, but it all comes down to, together. “What are you dealing with?” You’re dealing Dr. Ed Krupp: It goes beyond the City, though The front lawn of the Griffith Observatory was dug up temporarily to construct a major expansion underground. with public money. And there’s a way that that and I think that’s the other important thing. The lawn has since been restored. The beginning of the Event Horizon Theater can be seen. happens, at least in Los Angeles, and some- Your message for City employees is absolutely times it mystifies people outside of it. You have correct, but I think it’s extremely important to City Icon, continued all of these things that you have to go through realize that this is a genuine public/private part- to acquire stuff, to acquire people, and I could- nership with Friends of the Observatory, an Renovation n’t do that alone. The Department of independent community support group. They Continued from Page 1 Wonder drives the quest for understanding. The Recreation and Parks has support elements stepped up to the plate to assist in fundraising. quest for understanding invests value in accu- obviously for parts of those, but they again need They have done extremely well. They act as rate portrayals of nature. Accurate portrayals of [other City departments]. And we do not want stakeholders; they also act as people who help Club Gets nature enhance survival. I am a big fan of sur- to forget the Fire Department. We will never to preserve interests of constituencies, the pub- vival, and astronomy is a tool for survival. get in that building without the Fire lic, and so on. And so getting that to work – and Department, I guarantee it. And when we open, work in a new way – is actually going to be one Alive!: What is ? That word D.O.T., the Police Department, I mean you of the great stories told about this. You can Peak at start naming them … comes up a lot in your books. actually make that happen. Dr. Ed Krupp: That’s a word with too many Alive!: Is Cultural Affairs involved? And then you can even carry that beyond [the Project vowels. Archaeoastronomy is a coined term for City] because there is Federal money in this Dr. Ed Krupp: Cultural Affairs has a role project, which required Congressional an area of inquiry that developed rapidly over because they own the artwork at Griffith Representatives and Senators to get on board. the last 30 years. It existed before then, where Observatory, the murals and the astronomer’s Griffith Observatory is going to be a There is State money in this project, both in people would look at ancient monuments pri- monument. They had to review the plans for stunner: more spacious digs, modernized outright grants as well as competitive grants. marily and say, “Hey, this lines up astronomical- restoration and approve those plans. And we exhibits, better guest facilities and a plane- There is obviously local tax-base money from ly. Who knew they lined this up astronomically? had to go before the Board of the Cultural the County as well as City sources, where the tarium that’s so state of the art, nothing like I wonder why they did that.” And it was relative- Affairs Department with the entire plan in the taxpayers voted and said, “Yes, we want money it has ever been built. ly unsophisticated inquiry at the start. first place because part of their charter was rec- to go to that,” and it did go to that and that’s The project is scheduled to open some- ognizing and preserving the artistic and cultural Archaeoastronomy is a more disciplined exami- being spent. So it’s an extraordinary mix. time next year, probably mid-year or after. nation of the relationship between culture and heritage of the City and, in particular, Griffith Funding for the project is coming from a the sky, how people have looked at the sky and Observatory. And if that is their charter then we I think it is actually a real reflection of the entire number of sources, including the City, the used the sky – everything from measuring it have a responsibility to fulfill that with this proj- community in a way, and that is one of the state of California, the federal government, through serious observation and record-keeping ect. We presented, and passed with flying col- things that I think is not so well understood benefactors, visitors and, substantially, the and then using that astronomical knowledge, ors, I might add. except by the person who says, “Yeah, I own it. Friends of the Observatory nonprofit asso- I own the place.” They kind of know it viscerally, whether it’s for social structure or religious con- The handicapped access is just another example ciation. ceptions or art or whatever. We put the sky into whether they know these details or not. n The renovation includes a 35,000- everything. square-foot expansion, largely an entirely new wing and second theater built under Alive!: More so in the past than today? the Observatory’s front lawn. The terrace will still have plenty of room for leisurely Dr. Ed Krupp: No, I think it’s just different. If visits; the expanse will be interrupted only you think about it for a second, it’s very easy to for new elevator towers on the side. Also just look around our environment and see refer- being prepared are five new exhibition ences to the sky, whether they’re in the names halls, the 200-seat Leonard Nimoy Event of automobiles, popular songs or cereal. And we Horizon Theater, and an education center. say, “Well, that’s kind of stupid.” In the old days, Highlight for many visitors will be the they were serious about it. You know, they had completely modernized Samuel Oschin gods and stuff. And I don’t think it’s so differ- ent. It’s a preoccupation that our imaginations Planetarium theater, equipped with have with the things around us. We take what’s machinery and seats to create a startling around us and we incorporate that into our moving likeness of the star field above Los experience and then make something out of it. Angeles (or above anywhere, at any time Two thousand years ago, nobody would actually through recorded history). The illusion of produce movies about aliens landing on the looking at an open sky has never been cre- earth. That’s our story. That’s our fable. We ated to this extent. wouldn’t tell that story if it weren’t meaningful A restaurant and a shop will provide an to us. enhanced customer experience. Every his- toric architectural detail is being restored to It suggests a different viewpoint about the earth its original form and, for the first time, the and sky than our ancestors had, but I think Observatory’s rooftop terrace will be acces- we’re still very preoccupied with it. The only sible to the disabled. reason the puts a Hubble Enjoy your hardhat tour, courtesy Rec telescope picture on the front page is because and Parks, Jon Kirk Mukri, Dr. Ed Krupp, people will respond to it. And people do Bureau of Engineering Project Manager respond to it. I don’t know why it’s so. I only Larry Gonsalves, and Alive! know it is so. We have a profound sense of that n Dr. Ed Krupp pretends to be Atlas in “holding up” the old support beams during the excavation of the new Observatory relationship still. space, under the building’s front lawn. New support beams were put in to accommodate the expansion. www.cityemployeesclub.com City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! n November 2005 53 Griffith Observatory Renovation

His Moon Vehicle

Alive!: Tell me about your car, a 1968 Chevy Camaro. Dr. Ed Krupp: The car’s got 411,000 miles on it now. That means that it has been to the moon, which is 240,000 miles from the earth. And now it’s on the way back from the moon. My goal is to get it back to earth safely. Alive!: To do a safe splashdown. ABOUT Dr. Ed Krupp: Yeah, that’s right.

Alive!: It looks like a late ‘60s color. Dr. Ed Krupp: Yeah. Triple deep turquoise. Edwin C. Krupp, Ph.D.

Alive!: Did you buy it new? Dr. Ed Krupp: Yeah. This was my mush Birthplace: , Ill. mobile, and I had no idea that it would last. Education: Bachelor’s degree, ; Alive!: It did, though. Master’s and Doctoral degrees, UCLA. Dr. Ed Krupp: It did. Children: One son and four grandchildren. Alive!: That’s great. Siblings: Two brothers, twins. Dr. Ed Krupp: People mock me of course, you know. It’s a ’68. Title: Observatory Director

First job with the City: A part-time job as a planetarium lecturer from 1970 to ’72. First full-time job was as curator for Griffith Observatory in 1972. Is There Other Life Out There? Favorite movie: The Wizard of Oz (“easily”). Favorite kind of music: “Bob Dylan, no question.”

Alive!: The question I really wanted to ask is It’s an extremely strange and interesting uni- Favorite Friday night activity: “I have no life.” whether there’s life on other planets. verse, and that prompts in either case extraordi- nary questions. Why is it like that? Can you dance? “No.” Dr. Ed Krupp: I don’t mind answering that, but I’ll throw it back at you. That question is, “Do I don’t know if there’s life out there. I think it’s Favorite candy: “There are three basic food groups; chili, chocolate and beer. And you believe?” And for an astronomer, that verb very easy to argue that there is, and I think it’s chocolate of course is at the top. We’re talking dark chocolate, [believe] is actually the one that you try to very easy to argue that there isn’t. I’m not as not simply 72 percent cacao, or 80 percent. Have you ever had 99 avoid, because what I believe makes absolutely interested in arguing as knowing. percent? It’s like eating dirt. It’s great.” no difference.

What you want is to know. Can we know if Alive!: Right, finding that out, life as we know it. Hero: “My father and George Abell are probably two real good ones. there is life outside the earth or not? The answer Dr. Ed Krupp: Or even the difference between George was my adviser in grad school. He wrote the first modern is right now there is no evidence to tell us the intelligent life and just, you know, single cell textbook on astronomy and was a great showman. Everything that answer, one way or the other. And so, for me, [organisms]. n I ever learned – well, almost everything – I learned about what I what’s actually important is not so much the would call astronomy entertainment I saw George do in front of a answer to that question, which won’t be very classroom on a chalkboard.” satisfying for people, but [instead] knowing if this is a universe that is filled with life all over Best advice ever received: “Less wordy.” the place, or it’s a universe in which we’re it. Favorite quote or saying: “I Don’t Call It Anything” —Bob Dylan.

Hobbies: “I listen to music, all music, but am most transported by Bob Dylan, all Dylan. I am always grateful to hear live music, especial- ly at small venues. I do read a lot and not just astronomy but also classic literature, comic books, archaeology, anthropology, mythology, and genre literature (ghost stories, horror, terror, sci- ence fiction, mysteries, and the rest). I collect a lot of stuff, includ- ing bits of popular culture that few regard as collectable.

“[But] most of my interests have to do with astronomy, and I con- sider myself extremely lucky to get to do astronomical things all of the time. So, I write astronomy (I have been contributing a month- ly article on astronomy and culture for Sky & Telescope magazine since September 1993, and the enterprise is dedicated to the notion that astronomy is everywhere. I read astronomy. I travel astronomy. I talk astronomy.”

Favorite archeological site?: “The next place I haven’t been.”

Person most like to interview: Ancient astronomer . “He was professional, trailblaz- ing, and on the mark, but almost all we know about him is secondhand.”

Books authored (partial list): Skywatchers, Shamans and Kings: Astronomy and the Archaeology of Power (1999) Beyond the Blue Horizon: Myths and Legends of the Sun, Moon, Stars and Planets (1991) Echoes of the Ancient Skies: The Astronomy of Lost Civilizations (1983) The and You (1999) The Moon and You (1993)

Dr. Ed Krupp (left) and Club CEO John Hawkins ponder life on other planets. 54 November 2005 n City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! w ww.cityemployeesclub.com Griffith Observatory Renovation

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STOP 3 STOP 1 Plaza Elevators Dr. Ed Krupp: This is one of the new eleva- tors. The place never had elevators and now it over the new expansion right now. But it’s The Front Lawn is completely permeable in access. This is the underground, so you don’t see it. They’re start- exterior elevator that takes people from this ing to put the sidewalks back and the grass Alive!: A lot of changes to the building aren’t lawn just the way it was before. This elevator going to be seen. level all the way down into the Gunther Depths of Space. And it had to have some penthouse for access is a big exception [to the previous lawn]. This is all going to be a plaza Dr. Ed Krupp: People will have never a clue character to it that looked like it belonged with over the new expansion. about the elaborate engineering that went into the rest of the building. this to make the underground expansion hap- pen. Even more amazing than that is the Alive!: It was grass, right? Alive!: And it does. mechanical plant that’s on the side because Dr. Ed Krupp: There will still be grass in Dr. Ed Krupp: Oh, it’s gorgeous. that slope is much spookier than this level Alive!: You have a 360-degree view from here. these open areas. And now that these terraces ground underneath the building, and they had will be formally prepared, they’re absolutely Dr. Ed Krupp: Yeah. That’s probably why to build the platform out for that, and they Alive!: Is it gonna have a little round dome-y prime real estate because people would always they call it an Observatory. successfully did it. decoration? gather out here, particularly for sunsets and We brought the food concession into the There are three major things to think about Dr. Ed Krupp: No little round dome-y on it. all. Now it’s actually much more pleasant, building and very deliberately dedicated valu- with this facility. First, it’s an observatory, a much more easy, and can accommodate peo- able floor space [for it] to have the café oper- public observatory, so you got telescopes. Larry Gonsalves: We’re actually standing ple in a much more civilized fashion. ate at an appropriate standard. There will be a Number two, you have the planetarium, the small, outdoor restroom to the north of here. real driver for the project originally. And then The work is going on. The Bureau of number three, essentially the rest of the build- Engineering Architecture Division is working ing, primarily exhibits. And then you have the on those plans right now. whole outdoors.

4 Observatory in fact has a Hollywood connec- STOP the sunset in the equinox; the other four mark tion and we overlook Hollywood. The only dif- the moon’s extreme positions as it changes ference is here the stars are the stars. We have West Terrace over an 18.6 year cycle. STOP 2 been in so many motion pictures that we should have a star on the Boulevard and in fact Dr. Ed Krupp: This is a new feature. It’s It turns out that, right now and over the next that’s where I’m headed. I think we need to get actually a monumental instrument incorporat- several months, we are at the point where the one for the Observatory. But this was the first ed into the architecture called the Transit moon is as far out to the sides as it ever gets. Dr. Ed Krupp: This is the Rebel Without a film. Of all of the films that the Observatory Quarter. You can see a line going out that way. What I’m doing right now is checking these Cause monument, reinstalled. There are actual- appeared in, this is the first one that portrayed And there are several of these. These lines are alignments with the real moon. We did all the ly two reasons for it to be here. One, the the Observatory as the Observatory. gonna be inlaid stone that three of them mark measuring. A Bureau of Engineering survey team the solstice positions, the extreme positions of came out here and helped put the lines in. www.cityemployeesclub.com City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! n November 2005 55 Griffith Observatory Renovation

STOP 7 Hall of the Eye/ Keck Central Rotunda Dr. Ed Krupp: This area now becomes the Hall of the Eye. Once you start going through Alive!: The terraces could be for special light falling on them that allowed you to see the Observatory, this is a starting point events. the sun and the special red light, or the spec- because this explains and demonstrates and Dr. Ed Krupp: Absolutely. Yeah. This is just trum, of the sun. shows how people extract information from a wonderful addition of real estate. Many peo- the sky – what is it you get with your eyeball, ple just take it for granted, but I’ll [bet] you This is still part of what makes the place an and then where does that lead. And so the first people are gonna love these open spaces adja- STOP 5 observatory. It is in fact a telescope that oper- zone you go to is people using the sky in a cent to the building. ates daily for the public. More people have bunch of theatrical little demonstrations. We have animated little guys coming in and doing seen the face of the sun directly like that here Alive!: A special events place. West Hall/ at Griffith Observatory than any other place stuff where they don’t have telescopes. on the planet. More people have looked Dr. Ed Krupp: Oh, yeah. — [One] wall [in West Rotunda through the Zeiss telescope on the other dome Then the next thing we do is extend the eye in this hall] is dedicated to “observing the invisi- an area here with a telescope. What does a tel- Dr. Ed Krupp: This was and still is the West than any telescope in the world. This area here ble.” [Telescopes are going in there.] We’ll be escope do? Why do we care? How does it Hall and West Rotunda. It is still the place will also be dedicated to the notion of our sun looking at light that our eyes can’t see, and work? where the solar telescope, or coelostat, is. as a star. It’s sort of a cliché, but actually a lot that’s what this whole side of the room is. of people don’t really register that the sun is That’s what that cylinder is. It harbored a wide Then you go to observing in California. The In the Central Rotunda, they’ve restored all of just another star. So we talk about stars, about solar telescope that brought a live image of the story about how California became the the paintings. There’s nothing in the world like elements, and all the things that make up stars sun whenever the sun was out with two other Alexandria of modern astronomy is not well these murals. Up above is sort of the mytho- and where they come from. instruments on the side that had beams of known. This is a California story. So we logical conceptions of the sky, and then pitched that story to the State Department of around are sort of the eight : eight Parks and Recreation and they gave us a major panels of eight sciences and technology. grant for this exhibit. So we go through on that side really telling the whole story of So this parable that the building’s architecture California astronomy from the first observato- is telling us is that our imaginations begin with ries, the big observatory at Palomar, and now projecting these myths on the sky. They how the tentacles of California astronomy become the and technology, which in reach up into orbit and out throughout the turn become this public observatory, where world. Another story that people take for astronomy is available to everybody. It’s an STOP 6 granted is this whole business of having a pub- amazing conception they had in the 1930s. lic observatory. It was innovative here in 1935. There were pioneering people, and Griffith Alive!: And above here is the dome, the main Hall of the Sky was among ’em. He left the money for this. As dome. a result, years later, decades later, we all Dr. Ed Krupp: This moves us into the old Dr. Ed Krupp: Above here is the cupola. The historic alcoves on this side. This is the Hall of assume it’s part of the landscape, but it’s a story that is really unique to Los Angeles. main dome is over there. There’s another the Sky. There are six different exhibits here mural here, but it’s not a figurative mural. It’s that fundamentally show people the most The terraces are really important; [previously] more like a decorative mural. So this is the old basic things that people see in the sky and yet they didn’t exist at all. And now we have a ter- and traditional main entrance to the planetar- don’t necessarily have an understanding race on the east side to complement the west ium theater. And that’s what we’re going in about. With models and other demonstra- side. Telescopes can be set up there. now. tions, [the Hall will show] phases of the moon, night and day, the seasons, eclipses [and] And here, this is the Foucault Pendulum. tides. All of these are incorporated here, one Remember, you walk in and the thing is swing- for each of the alcoves. So if people walk in, ing back and forth? This is in fact the best look overhead or what’s at the back and all of architecturally integrated Foucault Pendulum the scenes should be different things. in the world. I know ’cause I’ve gone and looked at ’em all. This is even better than Alive!: Where is the ? Foucault’s Foucault Pendulum. We did Dr. Ed Krupp: It’s in storage now in crates, restoration work with the glass and the metal but it will come back. It’s one of the exhibits and the travertine stone inside. that will return and it’s going down to an People walk in and they look at it and they alcove. I would be run out of this City on a rail wonder what it is. A great movie would be if the Tesla Coil didn’t come back. filming people explaining to their kids what they think this is doing. But it demonstrates Alive!: Does the Tesla Coil really belong in an the rotation of the earth and so it’s an instru- STOP 8 Observatory? ment. That’s a fundamental principle again of Dr. Ed Krupp: Absolutely not. The greatest this place as well as the job we’re doing. We conundrum of all the things we did was the look at this place as an instrument because it’s The Center Tesla Coil. How do we bring the Tesla Coil filled with instruments and it operates to into an astronomical story? And the answer transform the visitor into an observer. That’s of Gravity — was, there’s no good answer. In going through the mission, that’s our job. By becoming an this with the designers and the renovation observer, they become more tuned to nature The Wormhole steering committee back then, the question and what makes nature tick. would keep coming up. People would say it Dr. Ed Krupp: Down here, you has no place. And I’d say that doesn’t matter. Alive!: Wasn’t the gift shop right here? come down Gravity Stairwell to the I will not be able to continue working in Los Center of Gravity. Over there is the Dr. Ed Krupp: It was actually an alcove over. Angeles if it doesn’t come back. So it’s gonna entrance to the wormhole. This was the entrance to the old office area come back. It’s a crowd pleaser. through here. Alive!: You’re scaring me, Doctor. What’s the wormhole? Alive!: Wasn’t Tesla trying to take energy to Larry Gonsalves: We opened up the walls the moon? here for the information and ticket sales. They Dr. Ed Krupp: There are two a wormhole. So this is the wormhole. You used to be small little openings. Dr. Ed Krupp: It was a way of conducting or routes to the Gunther Depths of Space and need the shortcut to go straight down here. transmitting energy. He [Tesla] pioneered AC, Dr. Ed Krupp: The alcove that used to be for the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater. alternating current, but his notion of having ticket sales now will become an alcove dedi- There’s the long way, which is the Cosmic Alive!: Will I go back like 30 years in time if I this transmitted through electromagnetic cated just to Colonel Griffith and who he was. Connection, and a short way: If you’d go walk through here? waves through the air of course would have The portrait goes back. The City Council through space/time relativistically, you’d take Dr. Ed Krupp: You could. played … I mean, nobody would have cell proclamation for goes back phones today. He didn’t win out on that part. there, plus some background on Colonel He was a wild and crazy guy. Griffith. — tour continues on next page 56 November 2005 n City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! w ww.cityemployeesclub.com Griffith Observatory Renovation

Tour, continued

skeletal versions of them and then you fill them out a little bit more and then you do the final rendering for the realistic sense that this is exactly what it looks like. And so we’ve got STOP10 rooms full of computers and animators, and all they do is they stare at screens all day and do The Samuel Oschin this. Alive!: And you said the dome is aluminum? Planetarium Larry Gonsalves: It’s a half sphere. It’s got Alive!: Do you still have a piece of the aluminum ribs so it’s self-supporting on the Laserium show here? perimeter only. The annular space between the ceiling of this projection dome and the roof I was there for the whole his- Dr. Ed Krupp: structure is about 18 feet. So there’s a series of tory of Laserium, and it did many valuable catwalks up there to get access to speakers, air things in the long run for showcasing the conditioning ducts, and all that that you don’t Observatory and expanding it back in that era even see. to a wider audience. But a Laserium program won’t be coming back. Alive!: Fascinating. Alive!: I loved that in high school, though. Dr. Ed Krupp: Remember, this has to be a perfect hemisphere and it has to be level and I understand. Dr. Ed Krupp: it has to be properly lined up and there’s a zil- lion places to make a mistake. Everything Alive!: I hear the Zeiss thing is gone, too. behind the mesh had to go black and non- Dr. Ed Krupp: The old Zeiss, the Zeiss Mark control a hundred or more projectors. [Then] in here: You’re in Ptolemy’s headquarters in reflective. They had to come up with the best IV, which went in in 1964 and was smoking they started bringing giant Barco TV cameras, Alexandria as he’s looking out at the night sky. non-reflective black surfacing that you could. and sparking when it came out – you couldn’t but the trouble with those is that, while they You’re in the middle of the Big Bang of the Otherwise, you get reflections of things like get parts for it, Zeiss wouldn’t handle it – that could combine a big image onto the screen, universe and you’re swinging by the Milky the sun’s disk back through and you get a dou- will go on display downstairs in the Depths of they weren’t sharp, they weren’t rich in color, Way galaxy. There are actually animation bling of the image. We’ve tested it already. Space, not as an example of old planetarium and they weren’t very satisfying. problems being solved that exceed the This is again the best I have seen anywhere. technology, but of how we make a model of demands of any other digital composition You don’t get that ghosting of the image the universe. The new Zeiss of course is in the In the period of time that we’ve been involved medium at the moment. Everybody else is on because of the work that these guys did in new theater and absolutely superb. in it, laser video technology has begun to come flat screen. And the other places that do this, improving what happens behind there. online. What you get is brighter than any like Hayden/Rose in New York did not go to images that could ever be put on a dome this Alive!: I never understood. I used to come up the level that we are going in terms of the size, and sharper than any images ever put on here and see the Laserium show, and then one multiple camera views that bring the image a dome this size. When this is up and operat- together without distortion. day I realized, “Wait a minute. Why are we ing, it will be unprecedented on the planet. here?” It’s just a laser show. This will be the best planetarium theater in the Alive!: So it will be solved. world. Dr. Ed Krupp: Yeah. That’s right. Dr. Ed Krupp: We’re solving it already. Most of those problems have already been Alive!: Why was it here? Alive!: This laser video technology, is that separate from the Zeiss? solved. Where we’re going now is we’re Dr. Ed Krupp: ’Cause you need a dome. moving toward the final rendering of all of They needed a dome and this was the biggest Dr. Ed Krupp: It’s separate from the Zeiss. these images. You sort of create in a sense dome they found. Alive!: This is more about color graphics? Here’s a little bit of orientation for the plane- It projects all the dome’s dig- tarium theater. This of course is a room that’s Dr. Ed Krupp: ital animation. The other thing that remains familiar to most people, a place where the completely unique to Griffith Observatory, stars come out and fill the dome. Even 25 and has been throughout its whole history, is years ago, we knew we had to do something that the presentation in here has been given by about this room because equipment was wear- STOP 9 a live human being. A real person talks to peo- ing out. Everything was wearing out. The last ple and does the presentation. They’re canned major renovation it had was in 1964. shows just about everywhere else. And our The idea is to transform this into the most sense is, like the rest of the place, this is an The Projector technologically advanced planetarium theater experience. It isn’t like doing this at home on in the world. And in fact we’re exceeding the television. When you come here, it’s much Pit Room expectation on several different levels. The more like the theater and it needs to be of the Alive!: Dr. Krupp, do all the rise first thing is not visible. It’s the Zeiss projector moment, so we have preserved that tradition. from the ground? you’ll see when we go downstairs, but that is It’s hard. We’ve got to train a whole new group Dr. Ed Krupp: No, no. The idea of emerging the work, and then you have an individual lift the state-of-the-art fiber optic Universarium of people in how to use this theater. And from below actually did originate in the 1970s; with a lift for the star projector and for the projector of stars and planets from Zeiss in frankly, we’re only beginning to learn what when America and Canada entered a new planet projectors. And they operate at a high- Germany. we’ve got to do. This is the stuff we’re just phase of planetarium design, there were a er speed or go a lot smoother. You need the We were not fully satisfied with the star field beginning to choreograph now. number of facilities that recognized the value two lifts to get to the height you need in the and we did due diligence, going around to of being able to get the instrument out of the planetarium. everybody that made planetaria. We liked Alive!: So the mesh covering the inside of the way and so they did that. But most of those Zeiss, but we said, you know, it’s not quite as dome causes it to look like there is nothing. instruments were considerably smaller than Alive!: Is this custom-made or does a compa- realistic for the faint stars as it needs to be. what we’ve got in this era. So this is like a ny build lifts? They were resistant. As the deal started rolling Dr. Ed Krupp: It’s a perforated aluminum monster. dome, which they make out of perforated alu- Larry Gonsalves: A company builds them. and they realized we were serious, and they They specialize in theatrical lifts. said, “Okay. We will work on this change.” And minum because that’s the material that allows Alive!: Does it have to rise from the ground? they did. the dome construction. But what you want is something that’s seamless. There’s a way of Dr. Ed Krupp: It doesn’t have to. No, you Alive!: Did you have to cut a hole in the ceiling? could just put it into the room, but the room I can tell you because I’ve seen it, this theater, constructing and assembling this where they Yeah. We had to cut a hole becomes much more versatile and you can do Larry Gonsalves: when it operates, will produce the most accu- are able to make the seams disappear in com- before we had the columns go down. rate, the most awe-inspiring, the most gor- bination with correct lighting, so that you just very dramatic things if you just have this see this smooth surface. If you go to planetar- option. And then also it comes down here for geous dome full of stars in the world. The the- Alive!: Measure twice, cut once, right? ater itself with the dome and sidings and the ium domes all over the place, you’ll see these servicing. When it is lifted up into the room, it seats and everything is one of two planetarium lines. We want people to come in here and has several different positions in which it can Dr. Ed Krupp: And that was like one of your theaters in the world that actually has archi- imagine it blue; there may be some clouds lock. So this is very handy. You get it out of the simpler tasks. tecture as an interior. The other one is in New floating across. It’s the cathedral effect. way and then you can use the room for other York, and they get high marks for pioneering things too. Alive!: Amazing. that sensibility. Our sensibility is totally differ- Alive!: And it will be shown on the entire Alive!: What’s the [price] that we’re looking at Larry Gonsalves: We even had to bring ent from theirs in conception. But the intent dome? German power here. They don’t [like] 240 here is, when people come in, to have their there? volts. jaws drop by a dome that seems an infinite dis- Dr. Ed Krupp: On the entire dome. Dr. Ed Krupp: I have to be careful. If you tance away. Fortunately, this dome technology don’t take it as an exact quote … appeared just when we needed it, and it’s Alive!: And it won’t look distorted? Alive!: They had to put a transformer in? Is it all computer controlled? doing exactly what we need it to do. Dr. Ed Krupp: Yeah. The planetarium pro- Alive!: Ballpark. jector does it just fine. It operates from the Dr. Ed Krupp: Yeah, everything is computer- The third primary element of the theater is all Dr. Ed Krupp: You’re in the four million center of the room and projects the stars out ized, so the performer can just go in having of the other special visual effects. Those in the [dollar] ballpark. and everything, no distortion. All dome digital rehearsed to the timings and just deliver with- old days were done with slide projectors and animation is very tricky to do and make it look out having to worry about all of the other stuff motion picture, and then video came in and all Larry Gonsalves: The lift alone is pushing a right. Not only is it projected out, but you’ve that is going on. It’s one of the primary goals. of that. It was all kind of hokey and hard to million [dollars]. It’s actually three lifts. It’s the got stuff moving. We’re creating environments mainframe lift that travels up, does most of www.cityemployeesclub.com City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! n November 2005 57 Griffith Observatory Renovation

STOP13 The Edge of Space/The Richard and Lois Gunther Depths of Space Dr. Ed Krupp: You have now reached the Edge of Space. When you step out to the edge, you’re looking at the Gunther Depths of Space. see galaxies, galaxies, galaxies. It is right off Remember I said we needed to fix this build- the telescope at Palomar. things that in fact show that relationship we ing, restore its historic architecture? Number were talking about before, stars and planets two, we had to do something about the plane- Alive!: Oh, that’s what you were talking about 11 and galaxies. before. STOP tarium theater which was just falling down. And to kind of put the seal on that, the time- The third thing we wanted to do was to add Dr. Ed Krupp: Among other things up here, line itself is not just a ruled line, it is a ribbon additional space to the Observatory to there will be telescopes up here so people can The Cosmic on which there are 150 feet of celestial jewel- improve the visitor experience, not to get make their own observations across the room. ry, stars and and suns. We have a col- more visitors. Two million a year is enough. From here you see it is filled and then you walk closer and closer and closer and it’s more Connection lection of extravagant costume jewelry that And so then the problem became how do you and more filled. The experience just expands Dr. Ed Krupp: This is the Cosmic was given to us. get more space on a building that’s on a as you get closer to it. Connection, a very strange exhibit case. postage stamp piece of property? The only way It’s150 feet long and about 18 inches wide. Alive!: Where is this being designed? to do it and not change the building was to go Here on the Edge of Space, we primarily spot- There will be an exhibit in here and it’s again a underground, and that is what created all of light pieces of the sky, so it’s a meteorite exhibit. very bizarre exhibit. This is fundamentally a Dr. Ed Krupp: In-house. The fundamental Larry’s [Gonsalves’] grief. pieces of it, the racks and such for supports, timeline of the universe. It will start out basi- Alive!: You have a moon rock? cally time zero, the Big Bang and go from 13.7 are by the exhibit designers, but the real work Alive!: This is amazing. in here will be done by the Observatory staff. Dr. Ed Krupp: Oh, yeah. billion years to now. It will be punctuated with Dr. Ed Krupp: That far wall is actually all sort of the big deal events that occurred, like Exhibit designers in New York and fabricators in New Jersey are doing most of the exhibits, going to be invisible because that’s where the Alive! : Did you always have the moon rock? when did the first stars occur. But we will big picture is. If you imagine a sloped 20-foot but there are some that are outside their Dr. Ed Krupp: No. To have a moon rock put punctuate that not with the imagery of mod- porcelain enamel on steel wall, panels really, ern astrophysics, but with popular culture, scope. on loan in a facility like this, you have to com- 144 panels fit flush all the way down around ply with a variety of restrictions including the corner to here. And kind of all up the security. The old building could never comply. ducts and everything. And that is this biggest We will be able to comply and we will be hav- astronomical picture of the world where you ing a moon rock.

that there are a variety of opportunities for STOP12 making food available, coffee and those kinds of things. And then the concessionaire will also handle catering for either interior activi- The End of ties or rentals or whatever happens along those lines, too. And that can be at whatever the Universe level the client decides they want. during the day for a formal lecture or a video presentation or anything. Dr. Ed Krupp: You’re looking here into the café at the End of the Universe, which is Alive!: You buy your soda here, you walk out STOP14 Leonard Nimoy and his wife, Susan, donated where the food service is gonna be. Wolfgang through these doors. $1 million to the project. He was very impor- Puck is the concessionaire for this. You think Dr. Ed Krupp: Yeah. tant in our efforts to get federal money for the and you think high-end; how project. He came back to Washington with us can anybody afford it? We get two million peo- On the opposite side is the Stellar Emporium The Leonard Nimoy and has helped us with his wife on other initia- ple a year and they’re just plain folks. In fact, and Bookstore, and that will be operated by tives. They’re sweet, wonderful people, both of the restaurant did a great job of presenting another concessionaire, Event Networks. Event Horizon them. Absolutely superb. what they would sell here; good prices, good Theater value. It really was impressive. Alive!: Stellar Emporium. Who came up with Alive!: Are you a fan? Larry Gonsalves: This is the Leonard Nimoy that? Dr. Ed Krupp: I like it, but I didn’t follow it Alive!: Will they take credit cards? Event Horizon Theater. It’s a 200-seat theater. Dr. Ed Krupp: I’m guilty. And then we’ve got the projection room back religiously. All science fiction movies, whether Dr. Ed Krupp: I’m sure they’ll take credit behind us. they were hokey or not, interested me, but I cards. Alive!: I love it. wasn’t … Alive!: Wow. This is cool. Alive!: Thank God. Dr. Ed Krupp: Everything has a name, and Alive!:You weren’t a big fan? that’s very deliberate: It establishes a kind of a Dr. Ed Krupp: We needed a second venue. Dr. Ed Krupp: You’ll have the ability to serve sensibility for people, and it helps make it spe- You can do a pickup demonstration anytime Dr. Ed Krupp: No, I wasn’t. people in here, but on the other side of that cial and memorable. From the very beginning, second glass wall there can be tables. There we developed that as how we’re gonna think can be carts up on the terrace or outside so about things. — tour continues on next page 58 November 2005 n City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! w ww.cityemployeesclub.com Griffith Observatory Renovation

Tour, continued The Renovation and Expansion Project Overview Three strategic goals guide the renovation and expansion of Griffith Observatory: 1. All systems and elements of the Observatory will be rehabilitated to their original grandeur and will be improved for the current level of public use.

2. The Planetarium Theater will be completely renovated and reconfigured to state-of-the-art, world-class technology in support of the most professional educational programming. Griffith The front lawn of the Griffith Observatory was dug up temporarily to construct a major expansion underground. The lawn Observatory is pleased to announce that in has since been restored. 15 2004 a generous gift from the Mrs. and Mrs. STOP Samuel Oschin Family Foundation is sponsor- ing space of space. More people – 7 million – have The Hall of Science. Critically important to carry- ing the Samuel Oschin Planetarium theater. looked through the Observatory’s telescope, than ing out the Observatory’s mission of presenting The Robert J. and 3. The Observatory will be expanded to provide any other telescope on earth. and explaining astronomy and science, the build- more public program support space in order to ing and the telescope have been open day and The general public is the heaviest user of Suzanne Gottlieb improve significantly the quality of the visitor night to the public free of charge since 1935. Observatory facilities. This is true for both local experience at the current level of attendance. Despite more than 67 years of advances in both Transit Corridor residents and tourists. Based upon a 1994 visitor science and technology, the content and configu- survey conducted in the Hall of Science, nearly 80 Dr. Ed Krupp: Now you’re in another ration of many exhibits had not changed since Two objectives support these goals percent of Observatory visitors live in California, installation. Only two of the exhibits utilized mod- important component of the Observatory, mainly Southern California. Of these, 31 percent the Gottlieb Transit Corridor. And this is the and shape the design and develop- ern interactive learning technology. Physical exhib- live within the City of Los Angeles. In addition, it space was so limited that the Observatory’s mis- north south line that’s established by these ment decisions being made on an the research indicates that 50 percent of all adult parallel walls of glass. sion to bring science down to earth was severely ongoing basis. visitors bring children. Of these, half are between truncated. Our view is obstructed at the moment, but 1. Create an environment that sparks a sense of the ages of 12 and 18 years, and half are under 12 you can see at the far south end there is a wonder so that each visitor is inspired to ask years of age. The main rotunda is noted for its massive Foucault “big questions” about human existence in the Pendulum, custom marble, travertine, and mosaic black monolith that rises up like from 2001. Griffith Observatory is also a showcase for some When you start at that end of the Transit cosmos: Who are we? Where are we? How did work. The passage of time and earthquake damage we come to be here? What will happen in the additional millions of tourists who arrive for the diminished the impact of all these elements. Corridor and descend the stairs, you are best view of the in the City. descending at the angle that points up to the future? During the project, the main rotunda will be north pole of the sky and . You get restored to its original architectural grandeur of 2. Develop exhibit and programming content that the 1930s. down in here and you see what supports the acquisition of knowledge, perspec- Renovation and Expansion imagine but people never to get to see, the tive and understanding by accurately exploring, The renovation and expansion project will restore The Hugo Ballin murals covering the ceiling of the meridian, this ribbon of sky that goes across illustrating and explaining fundamental astro- Griffith Observatory to its original grandeur and main rotunda were damaged in the 1994 earth- north to south. nomical phenomena and discoveries. improve it for the current level of public use. By quake and must be repaired to prevent further excavating under a portion of the front lawn and It’s called the Transit Corridor because an deterioration. In addition to their artistic and his- western terrace, the project will more than double object, as it moves across the sky on a daily toric significance, they are of cultural importance the size of the Observatory without changing the course like the sun, transits when it crosses Public Benefit to Los Angeles and California. Depicted in the Since opening May 14, 1935, Griffith Observatory classic appearance of the building. The following this north south line. Noon is the transit of panels are the scientific achievements of a variety has been a unique landmark in the Southern details the major areas of improvement. the sun. Every day at noontime the sun will of national groups, including the English, Italian, California landscape. Its prominent site, its come across here, pass through an apparatus Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Arab and Mexican extraordinary and spectacular architecture, and, The Samuel Oschin Planetarium theater. Griffith that’s sticking up on that monolith that has a (Aztec) peoples. most importantly, its mission of exposing visitors Observatory gives its visitors the original virtual “highly complex” device on it … it’s got a to the intriguing and inspiring cosmic wonders of reality experience: it delivers the night sky. It is a Expansion of Facilities. Griffith Observatory is hole in it. And the light goes through the the universe, lodges Griffith Observatory in the show no one else does as well. It is more important filled to capacity, serving more than 50,000 school- hole and shines down on a structure that is a hearts of the millions who make the pilgrimage up than ever in this era of all-pervasive light pollution. children on field trips and nearly two million addi- very ancient instrument … an arc that curves Mt. Hollywood each year. It is the only public A key element of the Griffith experience is a visit tional visitors each year. At these current atten- up like this, where the light falls on it. It institution in Southern California with a science to the Planetarium, now the Samuel Oschin dance levels, the demand exceeds available becomes in that sense a calendar. museum, a major public planetarium, and a public Planetarium theater, where the stars are preserved resources. A primary goal of the project is to like an endangered species. Audiences sponta- We pick that light up as it is falling on the telescope, and one of the few in the entire United improve the visitor experience by the addition of neously applaud when they appear overhead. The gauge, and we turned this into a 21st centu- States. approximately 35,000 square feet. Within this new current planetarium projector was installed in ry instrument. The light conducts a signal up space, flexible programming can permit more Griffith Observatory is truly one of the most effec- 1964. It is a testimony to Zeiss engineering and to this wall, where there is a giant star map school children to participate in discovering the tive resources for informal science education in manufacturing that it worked as long as it did. that lights up where the sun is and the stars wonder of the universe. Southern California, attracting nearly 2 million When replaced, it will be put on display in the new are. So you have an event with the sun com- visitors annually into the science museum. An museum as an important historical artifact. A key element of this new space will be two new ing and crossing, lighting up the star map in additional 50,000 school children visited the exhibit spaces with state-of-the-art exhibits; new the appropriate place, and then continuing Planetarium on field trips each year. They come Everything in the old Planetarium needed to be exhibits also are planned for the existing, renovat- on and the show going. because Griffith Observatory is the only public fixed. Audiences know that Griffith Observatory is ed Hall of Science. A new, 200-seat proscenium facility dedicated to presenting and explaining the world famous for having the most uncomfortable arch-style presentation theater, the Leonard Alive!: A star map up here? complex astronomical discoveries made in the seats in the entire Milky Way Galaxy. The wooden Nimoy Event Horizon, is planned. Classrooms Dr. Ed Krupp: A star map mounted up on research observatories and space programs headrests are legendary. The current plan calls for and a conference room will be added. Also, an there, yes. throughout the world. As mandated in the Griffith an improved theater with hidden space for new expanded bookstore, new elevators to improve Trust, the Hall of Science and 12-inch Zeiss tele- special effects technologies, for the sound system, access to the entire building, and more restrooms Alive!: Oh, so like a flat screen T.V.? scope are open free to the public nearly every day for computerized control systems, and for a new are planned. A modest food service facility will be and every night of the year. all-dome laser projection system, as well as a new moved on site. Dr. Ed Krupp: Yeah. Zeiss Mark IX Universarium sky projector and all After more than six decades of continual use, how- the other elements that modern, cutting-edge This information was taken from the Observatory’s Alive!: Although it’s actually… ever, with few capital improvements, Griffith planetarium production requires in the 21st century. Website. n Observatory, one of the world’s premier examples Dr. Ed Krupp: … structural, and the light- of Moderne/ architecture, desperately ing sources will be embedded into the mate- needed restoration, renovation, and expansion. rial. That’s just the solar component of this. Just as we had sun and moon elements upstairs in the lines, this will have a compo- Visitor Profile nent for moon events and for star events as The wonder and curiosity created by the Hubble well. This becomes a giant instrument that Space Telescope and Pathfinder images operates daily and on longer time scales for know no demographic or economic boundaries. people whenever they happen to be here. It’s Griffith Observatory showed Halley’s Comet, like the telescope. If it’s open, you get to look Comet Hyakutake, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, through it. If you’re here at noontime, you and Comet Hale-Bopp each to more people than get to see the event. any other place on the planet. In one day, July 20, 1994, more than 15,000 children and their fami- Alive!: Now is that really from the movie lies joined in a free celebration of the 25th anniver- 2001? sary of the first moon landing. In one week, more Dr. Ed Krupp: It’s just a black monolith. than 25,000 children and their families toured a full-scale mockup of the American section of the Alive! : Well, Doctor, thank you. International Space Station to experience the liv- At the end of the Club-exclusive tour, from left: Club CEO John Hawkins, Dr. Ed Krupp, and photographer Tom Hawkins. Dr. Ed Krupp: Thank you. n www.cityemployeesclub.com City Employees Club of Los Angeles, Alive! n November 2005 59

From left: Mark Brown, Rec and Parks City Attorney; Anne Waisgerber, Senior Park Ranger and Griffith Park Visitor Center Project Director; Rec and Parks Commissioner Christopher W. Hammond; and Park Ranger Joe Tafoya.

A Fresh Welcome A look inside the new Visitor Center. n Visitor Center in Griffith The Visitor Center exterior courtyard area was also improved by rebuilding a decayed wooden Park is refurbished. trellis, repainting walls, repairing securi- ty lighting, and replanting deco- Story by Anne Waisgerber, rative landscaping with Senior Park Ranger; native specimens. Photos by Angel Gomez, The Griffith J. Club Member Services Griffith Trust provid- Manager ed the funding nec- essary to build the REC AND PARKS — A Griffith Park new welcome awaits Visitor Center. Park those who venture to staff and visitors are Griffith Park. Rec and indebted to Trust Parks opened its refur- members Mr. Van bished Visitors Center to Griffith, (great-grandson the public Sept 22. of Colonel Griffith J. After several months of collabo- Griffith), Ms. Clare Darden, and rating with Griffith Park Visitor Center Mr. Mike Eberts for their generous contribu- Project Committee members Anne Waisgerber tion, which has made possible the creation of a and Marie-Claire Sallaberry on planning for modern public space that duly recognizes the Muriel Kotin, San Fernando Audubon Society, helped to The front desk at the Visitor Center. refurbishment of the aging and nondescript choose the birds on display and assisted with the text on remarkable gift which park benefactor, Griffith J. the panel. Ranger Station lobby, the Griffith J. Griffith Trust Griffith, bestowed upon the citizens of Los commissioned a private exhibit design firm, Angeles. This project gives fitting recognition and Universal Exhibits, in March 2005 to consult on pays deserved tribute to the unique urban land- final project and exhibit design, construction and marks, attractions, wildlife, geology and recre- installation. ational opportunity that are now shared by mil- Primary project elements included replacing a lions. decayed wood ceiling, adding security and exhib- The grand opening took place Sept. 22. Guest it lighting, retiling stained and worn flooring, cre- speakers included Councilman Tom LaBonge, ating exhibits that feature park plants, animals, Rec and Parks Assistant General Managers Jim geology, and geography, including a 3D fiberop- Combs and Kevin Regan, and all three Griffith tic map of Griffith Park, installing a multimedia Trust members. display, historic and current photos of Griffith These individuals volunteered their time and Park and its benefactor Colonel Griffith J. talent to assist Marie-Claire and Anne Griffith, accompanying text panels, and installing Waisgerber with several aspects of the project: and equipping an attendants’ station and gift Muriel Kotin from the Audubon Society help to shop. choose the birds on display and assisted with the Supplementing the construction effort was the text on the panel. Anne Mullins is translating our Rec and Parks facility repair staff, which refur- GPVC brochures into Spanish. Susan Immer bished a men’s and women’s restroom by replac- assisted with the text for the history and Griffith ing aging fixtures and configuring interior space wall displays. Fitz Munoz helped us prepare the to allow for wheelchair accessibility in compli- history wall photos for display. Paul Wolfe worked ance with ADA standards. with MC to design the door logo. n Albert Torres, Chief Park Ranger, 32 years.

From left: Mark Mariscal, Rec and Parks Metro Region Superintendent; Marie-Claire Sallaberry, Griffith Park Visitor Center Project Coordinator; William Maple, Universal Exhibits Senior Designer of the Griffith Park Visitor Center; Anne Waisgerber, Senior Park Ranger, Griffith Park Visitor Center, Project Director; Clare Darden, Griffith Trust Member; and Jon Kirk Mukri, Rec and Parks General Manager. William Maple stands next to an exhibit.